2010: The Year of Data

This year saw data and audience targeting enter the mainstream conversation. This growing trend gave rise to increasingly noisy conversations about how that data is being used, whether it’s effective in improving the online experience, how to measure its effectiveness and whether its use violates online privacy or otherwise offends the online user. Those in the industry have been active in resolving these issues and we expect them to be resolved in 2010. This shift will remove some of the endemic issues preventing a more rapid growth of targeted advertising, and if 2009 was spent talking about data, 2010 will be about using data.

Read More: Adotas

An Item on Google’s Shopping List: “Demand-Side Platforms”

Google has bought six companies since August and has many more in its sights. Here’s one category the company is looking at, according to people familiar with the company’s thinking: “Demand-side platforms.”  Dull name aside, this is an interesting business for Google to be thinking about. So-called DSPs are supposed to help ad buyers (that’s the “demand-side” part) manage the speed, volume and complexity of the new ad exchanges cropping up, like Google’s own AdX product.

Read More: AllThingsDigital

DoubleVerify Is Checking Ad Context Twice

In an effort to bolster confidence among protective brand marketers, digital media-verification company DoubleVerify has launched a new product to prevent and block ads from appearing next to inappropriate content. The new BrandShield product, which has already been tested by select agency and ad network partners, draws on DoubleVerify’s existing platform and technology which currently verifies over 20 billion monthly impressions on behalf of marketers in a range of verticals, including telecom, pharma, retail, finance, CPG, and entertainment.

Read More: MediaPost